A new life
by mandapanda84
Summary: About Claire's new life in Mineral Town. Claire's past has come back to haunt her. Eventually ClairexGray rated T just to be safe
1. Chapter 1

The first few chapters will be the black heart events and then the story will go on from there. This is my first fanfic so i appreciate all reviews including criticism's and hints on how to make it better.

Disclaimer: I do not own harvest moon. If i did i'd make animes with it if there arent any :P

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Claire POV

I unlocked my door and walked in.

"I'm home," I called as I closed the door. I live by myself so of course there is no answer.  
"Sigh. Another boring day at work."

Do the same old routine everyday. Wake up, go to work, leave work, get something to eat, go home and sleep. Everyday. Isn't there something exciting in this world?

"Well, I'll read the paper before going to bed."

I turned the pages slowly while doing quick scans of each page.  
"Huh? What's this?"

An ad had caught my eye.

Would you like to enjoy a peaceful

And refreshing farm life?

For more info call

Xxx-xxx

"A farm life? Hmm… This is it! Something exciting! I'll call them."

I went over to the phone and dialled the number. It rang three times before it was picked up.

"Hi is this MT Realtor? I was calling about the farm. Yes I would like to buy it. Thank you."

I hung up the phone and stood in silence. Then I started dancing around the room. The next day I started packing.

~A few days later~

I got off the ferry and stood on the beach. I was excited about starting my new life.

I followed the map that the ferry man, Zack, gave me to my farm. I entered the farm and stood in shock.

"THIS is my farm!?"

The field was full of weeds, stones, branches, huge rocks and tree stumps.

"Hello? Are you a tourist?"

I jumped at the sudden voice and turned to find a short man wearing red clothes and a red tall hat. _'Wow that's a lot of red.'_

"Um hi. No I'm not a tourist. My name is Claire and I bought this farm from MT Realtor but…"

"You saw their ad and thought you could live a refreshing life on the farm?"

He started laughing at me.

"Ha ha.. You believed the ad.. Ha ha.. You've been tricked… ha ha ha ha ha."

He stopped laughing at the look of my face. I swear I was going to hit him soon.

"Ahem… anyway this used to be a gorgeous farm but not anymore since the owner passed away," he said looking sad. "As you can see, no-one's been taking care of it. Many people have come to work on the farm but leave as soon as they see it."

"What am I going to do now? I sold my apartment and quit my job for this place."

"I have an idea. How about you just try and run this farm? The house is livable and quiet nice. As the mayor I'll help you as much as I can."

'_Hmm this might be alright' _"Ok. I'll do it."

"Excellent. I'll come back tomorrow and explain things to you. For now why don't you rest."

I head into my house and look around. I saw a bed, a table and a TV. It was all I needed to start with.

~The next day~

Knock knock.

I was at the table reading a book when a knock at the door came. I opened it and found the mayor standing there.

"Good morning, Claire."

"Morning," I said with the best smile I could. I was tired because I didn't get much sleep. I don't sleep well in new places.

"You look tired."

"I'm alright. You here to explain things to me?"

"Ah that's right. Come over this way." He walked over to the field.

"This is where you plant and grow crops. To plant them you need to clear a space and then hoe the ground. When you have done that you plant the seeds. You have to water the crops every day. You fill the watering can from that pond over there," he said pointing to a pond near what looked like an apple tree. "Though you can fill it up at any water source. When the crops are ready to harvest you take them to the shipping bin to ship." He pointed to the box that was near my house.

"That over there," he pointed to the big building next to the dog house, " is the barn. You keep cows and sheep in there. And that," he pointed to another building at the bottom of my farm, "is the chicken coop for, of course, chickens. Well if there is anything else you need come see me any time. Bye now."

"Ok. Thank you."

I stood at the field thinking about my new farm and life.

"Hello there!"

I turned to see the ferry man enter my farm.

"Hi Zack. Can I help you?"

"Nope. I'm here to help you."

"Huh?" I looked at him confused.

"Ha ha. I'm in charge of shipping for Mineral Town."

"Ah ok."

"I come and collect things you ship at 5pm everyday. You can ship your crops and things you find in the mountains. Also eggs, milk and wool from your livestock. I don't work on holidays though! Ok I got to go now. Remember 5pm everyday."

I wave good-bye as he leaves.

I went into my house to get the hoe, hammer, axe, watering can and some seeds I found in the tool box.

When I went back out, I chose a spot on the field near the shipping bin to plant my crop. I smashed the stones and broke up the branches that were in the way and pick the weeds. Then I hoed the land and planted the seeds.

I took the watering can over to the pond and filled it. I then watered my crop.

"Phew. I'm finished. Might go meet the villagers."


	2. Chapter 2

In this chapter are the Gray and Rick black heart events.

Disclaimer: unfortunetly i do not own Harvest moon

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I left the farm, map in hand. I decided to check out the blacksmith, Yodel farm and Poultry farm first.

I turned right and went into the blacksmiths. As I entered I heard shouting.

"What!? Explain to me what's wrong with it!" yelled a young man wearing a blue hat.

"What's wrong with it!? The answer is inside of you! You have much to learn!" yelled an old man back at him.

I tried to leave quietly but bumped into something and alerted the two men that someone was there.

The young man turned around. 'Wow. He is cute. And beautiful eyes,' I thought.

"What are you looking at!" he yelled at me making me cringe. "If you have nothing…"

"Gray!," the old man hollered, "How dare you talk to a customer like that!"

"So-sorry," Gray said pulling his hat down over his eyes.

"Welcome. My name is Saibara and this is my grandson Gray."

"He-hello," I said smiling. Though I admit I was scared of Gray a little so I was shaking on the inside.

"Are you new here?" asked Gray.

"Yeah. I'm the new farmer. My name is Claire," I replied.

"Um, I'm sorry I yelled at you like that earlier. I didn't mean to be rude… my grandfather was giving me a hard time. He never approves of any of my work. I'm ready to quit. I feel so stupid, you know?"

I looked at him. He actually seemed like a really nice guy.

I smiled at him. "It's called training."

He looked shocked.

"..Yeah. You're right. Sorry for complaining so much. Thanks, Claire. I don't get what my grandfather is saying now, but I think the time will come. I'll just keep trying. Well I gotta go back. Hope I can chat to you again."

"I'd love that. Bye," I said as I was leaving.

Then I went to the Poultry farm.

When I walked onto the Poultry farm I saw a yard full of clucking chickens.

'They all look happy,' I thought.

I walked in the door.

I saw a guy with glasses and two pink haired women.

"Wow, cool," said the younger woman.

"They laid so many eggs today," said the guy. "Everyone's healthy. I made some spa-boiled eggs, so let's enjoy them together."

"Ok," the older woman said.

"Um, hi," I said.

They all look over at me.

"Hey I've never seen you before. Are you a tourist?"

"No. I'm the new farmer. My name is Claire."

"Oh, I see. I'm Rick. Nice to meet you."

"I'm Popuri. Hope we can be friends," said the younger woman.

"Hi I'm Lillia. Come see me when you need Chickens and feed," said the older woman.

Rick looks at me and says, "Do you like eggs?"

"I love them," I replied.

"I knew it! Wait right there."

He went over to the table and said to his mum, "Is it ok to give her one?"

"Of course."

Rick came back over to me and handed me an egg.

"It's a spa-boiled egg. Good luck with your farm."

"Thank you. Bye."

I went to Yodel farm after that. I met Barley and May. Barley is the elderly man who sells cows, sheep and feed and May is his granddaughter. She was so cute. Wish I could have her as a little sister.

I decided that I might like it here.

I looked at the map.

'The next place would be…… the church,' I thought to myself.

So I headed to the church.


	3. Chapter 3

The Cliff and Trent black heart events are in this chapter. After this it will be my story until the Kai heart event. _Sentences like this are thoughts.  
_Thanks to Jean Cooper and Random Jelly Beans for the helpful hints. Hopefully this chapter will be good ^^.  
(Thank you for telling me about the mistake in the previous edition of this chapter Random Jelly Beans)

Diclaimer: as usual i dont own harvest moon :'(

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I walked through the town square up to the church. I looked towards the beach as I went past the path that takes you there. When I got to the path on the other side of the square I saw another one on the left. I looked at the map and saw that the Inn and Winery were on that one.

When I reached the church I noticed a path going to the right of the building. '_Might check that out one day_.'

I opened the door and looked around. I counted 6 pews and the alter at the end. Also an organ to the right of the alter. I saw the pastor at the alter and a brown haired guy sitting on the front pew. The pastor was beckoning me to him. As I walked to him I stared at the stained glass windows. '_How beautiful_,' I thought.

"Hi there," said the pastor when I reached him. "Are you new here?"

"Yeah. I just moved onto the farm. My name is Claire."

"Oh, so you're the new farmer? Nice to meet you. My name is Carter."

"Nice to meet you too," I replied with a smile. "This church is beautiful."

"Why thank you very much."

He looked at me for a second and said, "I was wondering if you could do me a favour? See that young man over there?" He was pointing to the guy on the front pew. "I was wondering if you could talk to him and make friends with him. He came to this town by himself, just like you. However, he doesn't try to make friends with people here. He's shy and it's difficult for him to open up to people."

I looked at the guy and thought that I would like to be friends with him.

"Sure. I'll do it," I said.

"Really? Thank you very much. I'm counting on you."

I went over and sat down next to him. He had brown hair tied back in a small pony tail. He wasn't tough looking but he wasn't scrawny either.

"Hi," I said. "My name is Claire."

He looked at me.

"Ah… hi… m-my name I-is Cliff…" he said looking back down. He had such beautiful brown eyes. Though they did look kinda sad. I didn't realise I had been staring at him until he said, "..Ah.. D-do I h-have something on m-my face?"

"Oh. No. Sorry I didn't mean to stare at you like that. I was just thinking that you had really nice eyes."

"Ah… I… ah.. I'm n-nervous. I c-can't t-t-talk…"

"It's ok. Relax. No need to be nervous with me."

He looked like he had calmed down a bit.

"O-ok. T-thank you Claire. You came to this town by y-yourself to run the farm right?"

'_Well at least he isn't stuttering as much now_,' I thought.

"That's right," I replied.

"Wow. Good l-luck with everything. I look forward to chatting t-to you again."

"Me too."

I got up to leave. I waved bye to them both as I was leaving

I decided to go to the clinic next.

I entered the clinic and went to the reception desk. The receptionist had short brown hair and soft brown eyes.

"Hi," said the receptionist. "Is something wrong? Do you need to see the doctor?"

"No. I'm just going around and introducing myself to everyone. I'm the new farmer. My name is Claire."

"Oh. My name is Elli. If you need to buy any medicine just come and talk to me."

"Ok thank you."

"No worries. Just go on in and introduce yourself to the doctor. He doesn't have any patients at the moment."

I walked over to the doctors door and knocked. When I opened it, I saw the doctor sitting behind his desk. He had black hair and dark brown eyes. He had one of those light headbands on.

I walked over to his desk.

"Huh? I haven't seen you before, have I? Well, are you new to this town?'

"Yeah. I'm the farmer. My name is Claire."

"Ah yes. I've heard about you from Mayor Thomas. I'm Trent and I'm the doctor of this town. Whenever you don't feel good just come and see me. Almost everyone in this town is healthy."  
"There are many unhealthy…. must be the nature……no end…..of medicine. How about…..a female too… of yourself…"

I had drifted in and out of his speech. It wasn't very polite but it bored me to tears. Then he was looking at me waiting. Then I realised he must have asked me something. '_Oh bugger_,' I thought.

"Um, I'm sorry. Could you say that again?"

He looked at me weird.

"It was nothing. Anyway there is a special tonic I got from another town. You can energise and recover from fatigue at the same time. It's not as effective as the medicine I got here, so I don't sell it, but… I made some improvements so it should work. It's bitter though. Would you like to test it out for me?"

"Um.. Ok," I replied. I thought it was the least I could do for not listening to him.

"Right. I knew you'd do it. Go ahead, drink up."

I looked in the bottle and it didn't look very nice. I hesitantly drank it. '_Ugh that's disgusting_.'  
I guess the disgust showed on my face.

"It wasn't good?" asked Trent. I simply shook my head.

"But it works, right?"

"Uh…yeah." And it was the truth. I actually didn't feel as tired as I did before.

"I knew you would understand the quality of this tonic. One more?"

My eyes grew wide and my stomache went weird. Trent laughed.

"I'm kidding. Anyway, it was fun chatting to you today, Claire. You helped me out too. See you next time."

"Uh yeah. Bye," I said.

I said bye to Elli before I left.

When I got outside I realised it was late in the day and decided to head to the Inn for lunch.


	4. Chapter 4

Well here is the next chapter. Claire meets the rest of the villiagers in this one. Hope its good ^^

Disclaimer: I don't own Harvest Moon but I'm working on it XP

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I entered the inn and went and sat at one of the many tables in there.

"Welcome. Oh, are you new in town?" asked a orange haired girl. She was wearing a pair of short overalls over a white t-shirt. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail braid.

"Yeah. I'm Claire, the new farmer."

"Well welcome to Mineral town. My name is Ann. What would you like to eat?"

"Um, could I get a Salad and water, please?"

"Sure. Coming right up."

Ann heads over to the man at the bar and gives him my order.

"Hey dad, how about we give her this meal on the house today?" I heard her ask him.

"Sure," he replied.

He heads into a back door which I'm guessing lead to the kitchen. Ann stood at the bar in case any more customers came in.

"So how are you liking Mineral town?" she asked me.

"Well, I like it so far. It's really beautiful and the people I have met so far have been so nice to me."

"Yeah. It's a very peaceful town. I hope you like it and stay here."

"Me too."

At that moment Ann's dad came back in with my order.

"Here you go," he said while he put my lunch on the table. "My name is Doug by the way. You are welcome here anytime. It would be good if you make friends with Ann."

"Sure that would be nice."

Ann and I chatted while I ate my lunch. She told me that she had lived in Mineral town all her life and grew up with everyone. She told me how she came to like Cliff.

"When he arrived at the inn one day, I was outside getting the sheets off the line to put back on the guest beds. When I went into the room he was staying in, I saw him with his top off. It gave me a huge shock. I apologised and left quickly. Now every time I see him my heart speeds up."

"So how come you moved here?" she asked me.

"Well I didn't really like the direction my life was going. I was in a dead end job that I hated. When I saw an ad for the farm, I thought I should take this opportunity and change my life."

"Cool. Well, I should get back to my job. I hope to see you here again."

"Yep. I'll definitely come again. See you."

I left the inn full and happy. I went to winery next. I met Duke and Manna there. Manna liked to talk a LOT. She told me about how her daughter left and wouldn't return and how Duke went to the inn and drank all the time. _'She only just met me and is telling me personal stuff,' _i thought

I left and went up towards the library. I saw a house next to the library and went there first. Basil and Anna lived there with their daughter Mary. Basil was a botanist and studied all the plants of Mineral town. He told me he wrote a lot of books that could be found at the library. Anna told me that Mary was at the library and that I should go say hello. So I headed to the library.

When I entered the library I heard someone mumbling.

"Hmm…what should I do…maybe if I did that.."

"Um, hello?" I called out.

"Oh I'm sorry. Welcome to the library. My name is Mary. Are you new?" asked the librarian.

"Yeah. I'm Claire. Are you ok? I heard you mumbling about something."

"oh yes I'm fine. I am just trying to figure out what I'm going to do with my story."

"Wow! You're writing a story? That is so cool," I said with excitement.

Mary blushed, "Thank you very much. Would you like to read it when I'm finished?"

"Sure. I'll look forward to it."

I chatted with Mary for a while. After a while I heard the door open. I looked towards the door and saw Gray enter. Gray looked at us, said hi and went and sat down with a book. For some reason I felt that I should leave. '_Weird,'_ I thought_._

"Well I've got to go now. I'll come again soon. Bye Mary," I said.

"Really? Oh ok. Take care Claire," Mary said a little sadly.

"You too. Bye Gray," I called to him.

"Huh? Oh see ya."

I looked back at them as I was going out the door.

I went to the house on the other side of the library. I met Ellen and Stu there. Stu is Ellis' little brother and Ellen is their grandmother. Ellen was sitting in a rocking chair with a blanket over her knees. She told me she couldn't go anywhere because she has bad legs. Stu was about the same age as May. Stu liked to collect bugs and scare Elli. I asked him if she got mad at him and he said that she did. I laughed and said that he should try being nicer and give her flowers to make up for it.

When I left I stopped at Mayor Thomas house. I met his son Harris. He was the police officer of the town.

"It's such a peaceful town I don't get to do much but patrol around," he told me.

Then I went to the supermarket.

"Hi. Welcome to the supermarket," a girl said to me. She had long blonde hair and green eyes. She was wearing blue shorts, a white shirt and purple vest over the top of it. "Are you a tourist?"

"No. I'm Claire, the new farmer. I moved in today," I replied.

"Alright then. I'm Karen. Wait here for a sec."

She went over to the man at the counter.

"Let's give her a free bag of seeds dad."

"What…but.."

"Come on. What happened to friendliness to customers?"

"Oh ok."

"Thanks dad," Karen said.

She grabbed a bag of seeds as she was coming back over.

"Here you go. These are Turnip seeds. Oh and my dads name is Jeff and my mum is Sasha. Well, come again."

"Ok and thank you for the seeds."

By then it was getting really late so I went to the inn for dinner and then went home to bed.


	5. Chapter 5

~1 year later~

When I got up I did my farm work. Watered all my crops, fed my chicken Pavlova and cow Shake (Yes I name my animals after the foods you make with their produce XD).Then I brushed Padfoot my horse (named after Sirius in Harry Potter). By the time I was finished it was about 10 so I went to the mines. I went there every day after I found out that Gray loved to get ores.

*Flashback*

_I walked into the blacksmiths to give Saibara some of the ores I mined. That day Gray was still there as I went in earlier than usual. _

"_Here you go Saibara," I said handing him the ores._

"_Why thank you, Claire," he said taking them. "Are you sure though? You could be making some money selling them."_

_I sighed, "I keep telling you Saibara, I only give you half of what I mine so I still do make some money from them. It's fine. I like you and want you to have them."_

_He smiled at me and went out back to put them away. I looked over at Gray and saw him working on something. _

"_What you making?" I asked._

_He looks up at me and says, "A necklace. But I don't think it is going too good."_

"_It looks good to me."_

"_Yeah but there are some flaws to it still. I want it to be perfect.""Oh…. Hey do you like ores? Cause if you do I can give you some?"_

"_Really? I love ores. Thank you"_

_I smiled. "You welcome."_

_*End flashback*_

So I go to the blacksmiths early everyday to give Gray the ores.

When I was finished mining I went to the blacksmiths. As I was walking in I saw Mary there.

"Hi Saibara," she said.

"Oh, hi Mary. What can I do for you?"

"I came to thank you for the tool you upgraded for me the other day. It is working better now."

"That's good. Glad to have helped you."

There was a crash over at Gray's work bench. "Damn!"

We all looked over at Gray and saw that his hand was bleeding. I was about to go over to him to help him clean it and put a bandage on it, but Mary went over before I could do anything.

"Oh no Gray. Come on we've got to clean this before it gets infected."

"It's fine. It's just a little scratch," he grunted.

"Don't be silly."

She pulled him over to the sink to wash his hand. Then she sat him down on a stool to wrap it. While she was doing this I noticed Gray was blushing furiously. 'Oh. I guess he likes her. Should have known,'

I left without giving Saibara or Gray their ores and went back to my farm. I decided to sell the ores I was going to give them.

I spent the rest of the day sitting under my apple tree watching my animals roaming around. I don't remember falling asleep but I got woken up by someone poking my arm. When I opened my eyes I saw Gray sitting next to me. I looked around and realised that it was really dark.

"What time is it?" I asked groggily.

"It's 8pm. What were you doing sleeping there for?"

"Um I just sat here to watch my animals and guess I fell asleep." I yawned and stretched. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"Oh…um… well I came about an hour ago and saw you asleep so I ..uh.. Sat with you till you woke up. But you didn't wake up so I decided to wake you up myself. I came to see you because you didn't come in today and was wondering if you were ok."

"But I….. Never mind," I decided I wouldn't tell him what I saw. "Sorry I didn't come see you. I guess I was tired after mining today. Have you had dinner yet? I'm making Baked corn, so did you want to join me?"

"Baked corn!? I wouldn't say no to that. I love Baked corn."

"Haha come on then," I said standing up. 'Must remember that little information' I thought to myself. 'I will win his heart away from Mary.'

That night me and Gray ate dinner and then talked till late in the night. When we realised what the time was it was too late for him to go back to the Inn as it had closed for the night. So I offered him my sofa bed for the night.

"Goodnight Claire."

"Goodnight Gray."

Then we went to sleep.

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I'm going to dedicate a chapter to someone who can give me a plot to use in one chapter. Anything will go ^^


	6. Chapter 6

Sorry its been a while since i uploaded something but i was stuck for ideas. But here is the next chapter yay.

I do not own harvest moon. Not yet anyway XD

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When I woke up the next morning Gray was already gone. He had left me a note,

_Claire,  
__I had to leave to go to work. I hope you come in today like usual. Also lets have lunch at Mothers Hill today. I'll finish at 1 so meet me at the blacksmiths.  
__Gray._

When I finished reading I got excited. I rushed around doing my chores and mining the ores. I then took the ores to the blacksmiths. I gave Saibara and Gray their shares and then told Gray I would see him at lunch time. I went home to make some food for lunch. '_Must remember baked corn,' _I thought to myself smiling.

When I finished making everything I put them all in a basket and put it by the door. It was only 12:30 so I had half an hour before I had to go. I decided I would check to make sure I finished everything. As I was walking past the grass in my field I heard a weird noise. I walked closer to investigate it. Then before I could do anything a snake came out and bit my leg. I screamed and started to panic. I didn't know what to do about a snake bite. Then I started to feel weird. '_I need to sit down,' _I thought. Before I could sit down, though, everything went black.

"Is she going to be alright?" I heard someone ask.

"I'm pretty sure she will be fine. We won't know a thing until she wakes up," I heard someone reply.

I groaned as I opened my eyes. They hurt from the bright light.

"Where am I?" I asked.

I looked around and saw Gray and Trent standing near my bed.

"Claire! Your awake. Thank god."

I saw relief flood onto Gray's face when he saw I was awake.

"What happened? The last thing I remember was feeling weird after being bitten by a snake."

"Well when you didn't show up at the blacksmiths I got worried. So I went to your farm and found you passed out near your barn. Then I realised the bite marks on your leg and rushed you here right away. You scared the hell out of me."

I started to cry. I guess the shock of it all finally settled in.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

"Shh its alright now," Gray said hugging me. "But please be more careful in the future. I don't really want to be scared like that again."

I smiled at him. "I'll be more careful. I promise."

"Well you need to stay here for the rest of today so I can keep an eye on you. You can go home tomorrow if nothing happens," Trent told me.

"Ok."

"Is it alright if I stayed with her for a while?" Gray asked.

"Sure. I'm sure she would love some company as I'll be too busy to do it."

Trent left back to his office and Gray pulled a chair over to my bed.

"Are you feeling any better?"

"A little. My leg hurts though. Um….did you carry me all the way here?"

"Yes but don't make me do that again. Your not light you know," he said with a mischievous smile.

I gasped. Then Gray started laughing. He had a really nice laugh.

"I was just joking. You weren't that heavy. It was actually easy to carry you."

I laughed too.

"Well that's good then."

Then there was silence. But it wasn't an uncomfortable silence. Then Gray asked me, "What made you move here?"

"Well, I needed a change in my life. I've been living by myself since I was 17 and I had no friends. I was going nowhere in the last job I had so when I saw the ad for the farm I decided to take it and I'm glad I did. I have made lots of friends and I'm happy here. What about you? Have you always lived here?"

"No I haven't always lived here. Believe it or not but I was a really bad guy before I came here. I used to beat people up for their money. Broke into peoples houses. I even……stabbed a guy once when he wouldn't give me his money. I regret everything I did back then. My parents had had enough of it all and sent me here to work at my grandpas shop. I'm glad they did. I have changed so much. And I got to meet a lot of nice people. So how come you have lived by yourself since you were 17? Where are your parents?"

I felt like crying when he asked me that.

"Um, well……they died… when I was 15. Then I was shuffled around to different family members. My dads family didn't approve of my mum and my mums family didn't approve of my dad. So the family's that took me in didn't keep me for long as they couldn't stand it. When I was 17 I had enough and ran away from the last house I was at. I found an apartment with the money my parents left me and have lived there till now."

"Oh. I'm sorry I didn't mean to bring back those memories."

"It's alright. I still miss them but I know they wouldn't want me to be sad forever. Besides I don't mind telling you. You have been really nice to me and I'm glad I got to meet you."

"Me too," he said with a smile.

So we chatted for a while. Then he had to go back to the Inn. He said he will come and take me back home tomorrow when he finished work. That night I couldn't sleep well because I was running a slight fever. Trent gave me some medicine to take the fever away and to make me sleep. When I woke up the next morning I was feeling much better. My leg was still a bit sore. I spent the morning talking to Elli. She is such a sweet girl. She looks after her grandma and her brother, Stu. Then at about 1:30 Gray walked in the door.

"You ready to go home?"

"Sure am. Thank you Trent and Elli. Bye."

"Bye Claire. And please take care," Elli said.

"Ok I will."

When we got to my house, I found my door was unlocked. I went in and saw someone putting my cloths into my suitcase.

"What the hell are you doing here!?" I yelled at them.


	7. Chapter 7

Ahaha some of you guys didn't like the cliff hanger and wanted to know who it was....well so did i really XD. That chapter and this one just wrote themselves. No really they did.. XD. Anyway here is the next chapter. Hope you guys like it.

Do not own harvest moon.

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"What the hell are you doing here!?" I yelled at them.

"Well, hello there, Claire. How are you?" he replied.

"Don't give me that crap, Jack. Why are you here in my house?"

"I came to take you back home of course."

I glared at him. "I haven't been living with you for 2 years!"

Jack stopped unpacking and stared at me. I stepped a bit closer to Gray. Truthfully, Jack scared me.

"Mother and father want you to come back."

"Yeah just for the money my parents left me no doubt. And you…..you…. I'm NOT going back to that house!"

When Jack took a step towards me with scowl on his face Gray stood in front of me.

"I don't know what's going on but obviously you are not welcome here. You should leave."

"Stay out of this peasant. It's none of your business."

"It may not be my business but Claire is my friend and I will stop you from taking her away if I have to."

Jack jeered at Gray. "I'd like to see you try."

"I have a whole town to back me up and I'm sure they will help me protect her from you."

Jack just stood there glaring. Then he started walking out the door.

"This isn't over," he said before walking off the property.

I looked over at Gray. "Thanks," I said with a weak smile.

"Who was that?"

"That was my cousin, Jack. I was living with him and my Aunt Lumina and Uncle Rock before I moved out. They are rich and they were the worst of all the family members I stayed with," I started to tell him. ("Well that explains the peasant line then," Gray had said.) "The reason I left was because Jack….did…stuff to me," I said sadly. "When I tried to tell aunt and uncle they didn't believe me. Not even my best friend Celia believed me. Everyone thought Jack was a complete angel and wouldn't harm a fly."

Gray just stared at me in disbelief. Then he looked so angry it kinda scared me.

"I can't believe he did something like that to you. And your family not believing you? That just makes me sick! I'm glad you got away from there."

He then surprised me by giving me a hug.

"I won't let that bastard touch you again."

I started crying and hugged Gray back.

"Thank you," I said softly.

We stood there for a while with me crying and Gray patting my back saying, "There there. Don't cry. It's alright."

After a while I did stop crying and gasped.

"Oh no. I got to take care of my animals and water my crops."

"I'll help," Gray said.

"Thanks."

When we walked outside I noticed for the first time that half my crops were destroyed.

"WHAT!? What happened?"

I ran over to them and noticed footprints in the dirt.

"Why did he do this?" I asked myself.

Then I thought of something and ran to the barn and chicken house to check on my animals. Thankfully they all appeared fine. They were happy to see me so I gave them hugs and fed them. Then I realised there was an animal missing.

"Where's BammBamm?"

"Who?" Gray asked me looking confused.

"My dog. I found him the other day and he was really friendly so I decided I would keep him here to help me look after my animals when they were outside," I explained while looking around for him.  
I looked everywhere on the farm calling him but he never came to me. I was starting to get really scared about what might have happened to him when I heard a small bark in the woods near Gotz' place. I found him there barking up a tree at a squirrel. I collapsed to the ground in relief. I called him over.  
"BammBamm, come here boy."WOOF WOOF he went, running towards me. I hugged him tightly. "Don't ever do that again. You scared me."

When I went back to the farm, Gray was still looking for him.

"I found him," I called out to him.

"Oh good. Well I better go. It's getting late….. Will you be ok?"

"Of course. Don't worry."

He looked at me for a bit.

"Well if you think so. If anything happens you know where to find me, ok."

"Yep," I said with a big smile.

When Gray left I went out and watered what was left of my crops. Then I went back inside, made dinner and sat down to watch some TV. At about 9:30 I had a shower and then went to bed. That night I had nightmares about everything that happened at Jacks place. I was so tired by the time my alarm went off in the morning. As I was getting dressed, I heard a knock at the door. I froze hoping it wasn't Jack. When I didn't answer the knocking got louder.

"Claire! Open up. I want to talk to you."

"No! Go away, Jack. Leave me alone." Then Jack kicked the door open. I screamed, grabbed BammBamm and ran to the bathroom and locked myself in there.

"Claire come out this instant. Or you will be sorry," he growled through the door.

"Please, just leave me alone, Jack," I cried back.

Jack started to try and open the door. He tried kicking it open like the front door but it had a really strong deadbolt on it so he couldn't. 'I should get one for the front door too,' I thought. Why there wasn't one on the front door I wouldn't know.

All of a sudden it went quiet. Then I heard some crashing. Then someone knocked on the door.

"Claire? It's Gray. You can come out now."

I unlocked the door and opened it slowly. There stood Gray looking worried. Then he looked relieved.

"Thank goddess. Your ok."

I ran over and hugged Gray.

"What..sniff..are you…sniff…doing here?" I asked him crying. I seemed to be crying a lot lately.

"Well Grampa heard screaming from here and came to get me. Then I realised that Jack wasn't in his room at the inn and ran straight here. I told Grampa to get Harris and come here as soon as possible before I left. When I got here I saw Jack trying to open the bathroom door. So I pulled him away and punched him. He ran off after that," he said while patting my hair. "I'm glad I got here in time before anything happened to you."

"Me too," I replied. I had stopped crying by then.

After that, I gave Harris a statement on what happened and what Jack looks like and he said he would do all he can.

I then tended to my animals while Gray watered my crops for me.

I told him I needed to go to the supermarket to get some turnip seeds as they grow quick and there wasn't enough time left of spring for other crops.

On our way back to the farm I decided I would buy us lunch at the inn. Of course Gray started arguing with me saying that it should be him paying not me. But I told him that I was thanking him for all he has done for me so he stopped arguing with me.  
We ate in silence and when we were finished he walked me to Gotz' house so I could buy a deadbolt for my front door. Then we went back to the farm. While I planted the seeds and watered them, Gray put the deadbolt on the door for me.  
When we were finished we sat under the apple tree and quietly watched the animals roam around. Then at about 7pm Gray said he had to go. So when he left I went inside and locked the door. I had dinner, a shower and went to bed. I was exhausted.

* * *

Wow. Im not giving Claire a good life am i? Oh well it will eventually get better. Hopefully. Anyway i name my dog in the games after my dog who i loved dearly. Yes, his name really was BammBamm. Oh and you can tell that Jack lives in Forget-me-not valley. Well at least i hope you can tell o_O  
Also, i am going to re-write the first few chapters soon.


	8. Chapter 8

New chapter. Yay. I'm actually gonna reply to the reviews i got XD.

_Blue Topaz Lover- _Don't worry. I decided not to re-write the chapters because i cant be bothered XD. Hope you like this next chapter.

_Random Jelly Beans- _Yeah it is creepy about him doing stuff when they are cousins. I've read lots of fics but i've never really seen a super bad Jack so i decided to do it XD. And don't worry a small review is better than no review ^^.

Well on with the story. Hope you guys like it.

I do not own Harvest moon....

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The next morning I was woken up by a knock.

"Who is it?" I yelled out.

"It's Mayor Thomas, Claire," came the reply.

"Hang on."

I got up and threw on some clothes. I was hoping to have a sleep in today but I guess it wont be happening. I opened the door.

"Good morning," he said brightly. Ugh.

"Mornin'," I replied.

"I came to tell you that tomorrow is the spring horse races. As you horse is too young you can't compete this year. But you can make bets on other horses. Its in Rose Square and it starts at 10am. I hope you can come."

"Sure. I'll go. I need a break."

"That's good. I shall see you tomorrow then."

With that he left. I went back inside to grab my rucksack and watering can. I watered my crops, brushed and hugged my animals and milked Shake, my cow. When I was finished I put the eggs and milk in the shipping box and left to go to mothers hill and the forest to collect the wild grasses and bamboo shoots that grow there. While I was looking for them I kept an eye on my surroundings in case Jack tried to attack me again. But I got them all and went back to put them in the shipping bin without any sign of him.

After that I went to the blacksmiths and gave Gray a baked corn and Saibara one of the turnips I was growing. I was too scared to go in the mines alone at the moment.

Then I went to the inn to visit Ann.

As I walked in I was tackled by my red haired friend.

"Claire! How are you? I heard what happened. Are you ok now? Were you hurt?"

"Whoa. Slow down Ann. One thing at a time," I laughed trying to pull her off me.

"Is it true what I heard?"

"You mean about my past with Jack?" I asked. She nodded. "Yeah it is. By the way, who did you hear that from anyway?"

"Umm, well when Saibara came running in here yesterday looking for Gray, I followed him up the stairs and heard him saying there was screaming coming from your farm. I wanted to go too but I had to stay here. When Gray came back later I begged him to tell me. At first he wouldn't tell me but he gave up and told me after I told him I wouldn't leave him alone if he didn't."

I laughed at this. Poor Gray.

"So, are you ok now?" she asked with a worried look on her face.

I gave her a smile. "Yeah. I'm just fine now."

Truthfully I wasn't fine. Jack is somewhere in this town but no-one knows where. I'm scared he would get me when I was alone and far away from rescue. But I didn't want to worry anyone anymore.

While I explained everything to Ann, I ate lunch. When I was finished, I told her that I needed to go and that I'll see her tomorrow at the races. I then went to the supermarket to get more turnip seeds. I stayed there and chatted to Karen for a little while. I didn't really like her that much but I decided I would try to be friendly. Then I went home to plant the seeds.

When I was finished I sat down under the apple tree. I found it relaxing to sit under it while I thought about things. When i felt myself starting to fall asleep I got up. I didn't want to fall asleep out here unguarded. So I went and played with BammBamm. When I had enough I went inside to make dinner. I gave BammBamm his dinner while mine was cooking. When my dinner was ready I sat down and put the TV on. I watched a show about cooking. I washed the dishes when I was finished, had a shower and went to bed.

When I woke up the next morning, I quickly watered my crops, brushed and hugged my animals and milked Shake. I put everything in the fridge as I couldn't ship things on holidays. Then I watched TV till 9. I walked slowly to the square. It was just after 10 when I reached it. I had a chat with everyone before I made my bets. I walked over to Mayor Thomas to place my bets for the first race.

"Hmm. I'll have two tickets for… Dustball please."

"That will be 100g, please," Mayor Thomas said.

I handed over the money and stood at the gate waiting for the race to begin. While I was waiting I wondered why Gray wasn't here. When I asked Zack, he told me that Saibara didn't let Gray come to these things. 'Well that's not fair,' I thought to myself.

Then the race began. I cheered along with everyone else. My horse came in second but it was so close to winning. So I put my tickets in the bin and went back over to Mayor Thomas.

"I'll have… 3 tickets for Midnight."

"That will be 150g, please."

I handed him the money and went back to the fence. I waited 5 minutes before the next race began. This time my horse won. I got 42 tokens for winning. Mayor Thomas explained that I can exchange them for prizes when I went to make a bet on the last race.

"I'll just have 1 ticket on Zanzibar, please."

"That will be 50g, please."

I went back to the same spot I stood for the first two races. My horse in this race came last.

I went over to Mayor Thomas to look at the prizes I can get with the tokens. 'Wow. There is a truffle.' I thought

"I'll have the truffle please," I told Mayor Thomas.

"That will be 10 tokens."

I got another 3 truffles. As I only had 2 tokens left I decided to go home.

When I got home, I put the truffles in the fridge, had dinner and went to bed.

* * *

Soooo how did you guys like it? We will find out in the next chapter where Jack has been hiding. That means he is coming back. Nooooo! XD  
And im having a poll to decide who Mary is going to end up with.


	9. Chapter 9

Well here is the next chapter.

_Blue Topaz Lover- _you get more money if you get the truffles and diamonds XD. Hope you like this chapter ^^

_NerdAndProudOfIt-_ i love how Jack is evil too. I haven't seen many evil Jacks XD. Don't worry about it being a small review. They are better than no review.

_Random Jelly Beans- _Yeah i noticed that sentance after i put that chapter up. that was the part i didn't like for that chapter. *Takes cookies and runs towards corner. Stops. Turns. Thank you! Sits in corner eating cookies* XD Hope you like this chapter.

* * *

3 days later I was woken up to knocking. 'What's up with the early morning visits?'

I got up and opened it to find Mayor Thomas standing there.

"Good morning, Claire. I have come to tell you that the cooking festival is tomorrow at Rose square. If you come before noon you can find out the theme and then enter a dish."

"Thank you, Mayor Thomas." I said with a smile.

He left and I went back in to have breakfast.

When I was finished I went out and headed to the chicken house first.

"Morning, Pavlova," I said as she came up to me for a hug. I collected the egg and put it in the shipping bin and put food in her feed box. Then I checked on the egg I had in the incubator.  
"Just a little longer."

After I was finished in there I went to do shake. I brushed the dirt off and gave her a hug. While I was milking her, I noticed that she was very jittery. I noticed that she was jittery a few day ago.

"What's the matter girl?" I asked while patting her head.

I looked around but couldn't find anything that could be upsetting her. So I put food in her feed box and went back out.

I went and watered my crops. After I watered them I harvested the ones that were ready. As I was picking the cucumbers, BammBamm started barking. Before I could stand, something hit me in the head and everything went black.

When I woke up, I found myself in a familiar room.

"Oh no," I groaned to myself. I never wanted to come back here.

"I see your finally awake," I heard someone say.

"Jack," I growled. It was at that point that I realised my hands and feet were tied to the bed. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Now, now, Claire. That is no language for a young lady."

I sighed.

"Hello, Lumina."

"That's Aunt Lumina, dear. I have missed you terribly."

"Ok first I have never considered you my family, so you are not my Aunt. And second you never missed me. You missed the money," I snapped.

Lumina started laughing.

"Ahaha. Do you really think I wouldn't miss my own niece. And there is no need for that attitude."

"Well considering I'm tied down to the bed, I have to use something to show my hatred for you people."

Lumina looked stunned for a mere second before she put her stuck-up face back on.

"Jack, untie her," she said.

Jack moved over to me to undo the ropes. When he undid my legs, I punched him in the face and ran. Lumina tried to stop me, but after working on the farm I had gotten stronger. So I pushed her out of the way. When I got to the bottom of the first flight of stairs going down, I jump over the edge and ran out the door. As I reached the bottom of the hill the mansion is on, I heard running footsteps. I looked back and saw Rock and Jack chasing after me.

'Oh crap,' I thought to myself.

I started running faster while I looked for somewhere to hide. That's when I saw the farm and hoped Jill was home. She moved into the farm just before I left and I had become friends with her. I didn't tell her why I was leaving though.

I ran up to the door started banging on it. Soon after, it opened and Jill was surprised to see me.

"Claire? What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Help me," I gasped.

She let me in and locked the door when she closed it. She took me into the kitchen and got me a drink of water.

"What's going on?"

Before I could answer, there was a knock at the door.

"Please, Jill. I'm not here if they ask.

She gave me a weird look but nodded her head.

When she went to answer the door, I went next to the kitchen door to listen.

"Oh, hello Jack. What can I do for you?"

"Have you seen Claire?"

"You mean she has come back?"

"Ah, yes she has. So have you seen her?"

I always thought Jack was an idiot. He still asked if she had seen me even though she had asked whether I was back.

"Nope. Sorry," I heard her reply.

Even though I couldn't see a thing, I could somehow tell that he didn't believe her.

"Ok. Well, if you see her, could you tell her we are looking for her?"

"Can do. See you later."

I heard her close the door and come back to the kitchen.

As she came in through the door I looked over her shoulder just to be safe. It wasn't that I didn't trust her, cause I did, it was that I didn't trust Jack. But the room was empty.

"So, you going to tell me what is going on?" she asked me.

I looked at her and sighed. "Ok."

We sat back down at the table and I told her how Jack had kidnapped me and bought me here.

"Wow. I knew there was something weird about him. I never knew he could do something like this, though."

"Oh, he has done worse," I mumbled.

"What do you mean?" she asked me with a questioning look.

"Ah..nothing. Can I borrow your phone quickly?"

"Sure."

I dialled the blacksmiths. It took two rings before it was answered. Thankfully it was Gray who did answer it.

"This is the Blacksmiths. How can I help you?"

"Gray," I whispered. "It's Claire."

"Claire? Where are you? Why are you whispering?"

"Well, Jack attacked me and then I woke up at his house. I got away and now I'm hiding at Jill's farm. I think he is outside. Can you come get me, please?"

"Of course. I'll be there in…."

"Gray? Hello?" The phone had gone dead.

I heard an evil laugh coming from outside. Jill stood up and came to stand next to me.

"You locked the door right?" I asked her keeping my eye on the door.

"Yes I did. What could he want?"

"Me," I simply stated.

"But why?"

"Many reasons. Maybe I should leave and try to lose him in the forest between here and Mineral Town."

"You can't and I won't let you!" Jill told me with a scared look on her face. "What if he catches you?"

"But I don't want to involve you in this anymore than you already are."

"I'm fine. I can look after myself. You are not leaving until Gray gets here."

"Ok. I'll stay here. How long does it take to get here from Mineral Town?"

"About an hour and a half."

"Oh, great. We have to keep him out for that long?"

"So how do you know Gray?" she asked me.

I smiled. "We are friends. I am the farmer in Mineral town now."

"Wow. Really?"

While we were talking, it had gone quiet. Eerily quiet. Jill and I looked at each other in fear.

"My animals aren't making any noise," Jill whispered.

I nodded listening intently for any kind of sound.

I crouched down low and went over to the window.

What I saw nearly made me sick. Jack was standing outside Jill's barn with blood all over him.

I heard a gasp behind me. I turned around and pulled Jill into a hug.

"I'm so so sorry. This is all my fault. I will pay you back for them," I whispered

"No. It's not your fault. It's that sicko's fault," she whispered back.

We went back into the kitchen and pushed the table behind the door to keep him out if he manages to get in the house. We were both glad there actually wasn't a window in the kitchen.

Suddenly there were loud bangings at the front door. It eventually gave in and we heard someone come in.

"Claire! Come out or this dog will also be killed!"

I looked at Jill. She shook her head.

"My dog died a few months ago," she told me.

Then I realise what dog he was talking about.

"No," I whispered.

I went over and moved the table.

"Stay here," I told Jill.

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to save you and my dog from that monster."

I opened the door and walked into the other room. "Put him down and I will come with you."

He had a smirk on his face as he put BammBamm down.

"Come here, boy," I called to him.

He ran over to me and started licking my face.

"I love you too. Now, be a good boy and go in that door."  
For some strange reason, my dog has always understood everything I have said. He must have known something was happening because he gave me a sad look before going into the kitchen.

Jack grabbed me and dragged me out.

He took me back to the mansion and up to my old room. He tied me back onto the bed.

"So, you got me back. What are you going to do?"

"Oh, I think you know exactly what I'm going to do. Just not yet." He left the room with a smirk.

I started getting scared. I didn't like the look on his face. I hope Gray gets here soon.

* * *

Ooh how is Claire going to get away? And in case you couldn't tell, Jack had been hiding in the barn and left before Claire went in there. Poor Shake.


	10. Chapter 10

Well this chapter starts in Grays POV (Yay for doing another POV) XD. Anywho..umm what was i gonna say.. oh yeah. Fluffiness at end of chapter! XD Lol hope you guys like it.  
Review rtime  
_Random Jelly Beans- _Yep. Jack is crazy. Hopefully this will be last chapter we see him in XD. And BammBamm is so cute and smart *nods head*. enjoy ^^  
_.xXRuthieCutieXx_.- It is getting exciting isn't it. hope you like this chapter too

_

* * *

Gray's POV_

I was in the blacksmiths working on a tool when the phone started ringing. My grandpa wasn't in so I had to answer it.

"This is the Blacksmiths. How can I help you?"

"Gray," I heard someone whisper. "It's Claire."

Claire? Why would she ring me?

"Claire? Where are you? Why are you whispering?" I asked.

"Well, Jack attacked me and then I woke up at his house. I got away and now I'm hiding at Jill's farm. I think he is outside. Can you come get me, please?"

That bastard!

"Of course. I'll be there in…."

The phone started giving me the hanging up tone. Something must have happened. So I wrote Grandpa a quick note telling him why I wouldn't be in the shop when he got back and left.

It took me an hour to get to Forget-Me-Not valley which is a record. It usually takes me at least an hour and a half.

I went to Jills farm to find that it was quiet.

"Weird. Where are the animals?"

I went up to Jills house and knocked on the door.

"Jill? Claire? You guys there? It's Gray." I called out.

I heard barking and someone running to the door. They opened it and pulled me inside. I only saw Jill and Claire's dog, BammBamm, there.

"Where's Claire?" I asked nervously.

"Jack….My animals….Claire….gone.." she said sobbing.

I told her to calm down and explain though I got the gist of it all.

"Jack came looking for Claire here. When I told him she wasn't here I thought he would leave. But he didn't. When we looked out the window we saw Jack with the blood of my animals all over him. So me and Claire went to hide in the kitchen while we waited for you. Jack broke open my door and told Claire that he better go with him or he would kill her dog. She didn't want to lose him so she went back to the house with Jack." Jill was crying by the time she was finished.

"It's ok, Jill. I promise I will get her back."

When it was sunset, I set off for the mansion where Jack lived. I knocked on the door and waited for an answer. The very old butler, Sebastian, opened the door.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

Ok time to put the plan into action.

"Hi. I'm here to see Jack. He said that when I come, to get you to point me to his room. So, which way do I go?"

"Sure thing, sir. You go up those stairs and it's the door on the left hand side."

"Thank you," I said kindly. Ugh. Pretending to be a friend of Jack's made me feel a bit sick.

I went up the stairs. I opened the door on the left and looked in. But the room was empty. Suddenly I heard a yell from the room on the other side of the stairs. I ran over and opened the door…

_Claire's POV_

I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew, my room had gotten darker. I could tell from the crack in the curtains that it was sunset. Suddenly I heard my door open. I looked over and saw Jack walk in with a tray of food.

"You're finally awake," he said putting the tray on the table next to the bed.

He picked up the fork and put some food on it. He bought it towards my mouth but I kept it closed, so he grabbed my jaw and forced my mouth open and put the food in. He closed it again and held it.

"Eat."

So I pretended to chew and swallow the food. When he let go I spat it back out at him.

"That's not good, Claire. You need to eat you know."

"I don't want to eat any food that came from this house. For all I know…" I started to feel weird. I couldn't move. "What the hell did you put in that?" I gasped out.

"Just something to paralyze you so you can't fight me," he told me with a gleeful look on his face.

Then I knew what he came for. Oh my goddess. I'm in trouble. And where was Gray?

Jack climbed onto the bed and on top of me, smirking. He started undoing my shirt. Because I was tied up and paralyzed I couldn't do anything to get him off. He then put his mouth on mine and stuck his tongue in. I bit it as hard as I could.

"Ahhh! You bitch!" he yelled at me. Then he slapped me.

"Don't touch me," I snarled at him.

He started laughing.

"Nothing you can do about it."

He started licking my neck and was moving down towards my chest. Just as he was about to undo my bra, the weight of him was lifted off me. I opened my eyes and saw Gray punch him in the face. Jack fell but got straight back up.

"Well, well. Look who showed up. Don't think you will be getting her back. You wouldn't be able to leave here anyway."

"I don't see anyone who can stop me. Your butler is really old, your father is a lazy bum, and don't get me started on your mother."

Jack suddenly lunged at Gray, but Gray was too fast for him and he fell to the ground again. Jack kicked his leg up and got Gray in the stomach. Gray was doubled over trying to get air when Jack kicked him in the face. Gray was on the floor. It looked like he lost consciousness.

"Gray! Get up. Please." I cried out.

Jack turned to me.

"Shall we continue?"

I saw Gray get up from the floor quietly. I pretended not to see him get up so Jack wouldn't notice. Gray spun Jack around and punched him again. He kept punching him in the face till he passed out. He got up and gave him a hard kick to the ribs. I think I heard something snap.

"Claire," Gray said coming over. "Are you alright? I'm so sorry I'm so late."

He untied me. While he wrote a note, I tried to get up but I still couldn't move.

"Gray, I can't move. He gave me something to paralyze me."

He came back over, bent down and picked me up. He was carrying me bridal style. I blushed. While we were walking to Jills farm, I asked him what he wrote in the note.

"I was just telling Jack that if he ever tried to hurt you again I would kill him."

I giggled. "Thank you for saving me Gray."

He looked at me. "Your welcome."

He bent over and softly kissed me. He lips were soft and they left a sweet taste on my lips.

I looked at him in surprise. "Why?" I asked in confusion.

"Because I really like you, Claire."

I smiled back at him. "I like you too Gray."

I tried to kiss him again but I still had very limited movement. Gray saw me try and bent back down so I could. This time it was a passionate kiss. When we stopped for air, we saw there were some people watching us. Gray blushed and ran the rest of the way.

When we got Jills farm, Gray sat me on her lounge.

"Claire! I'm so glad you're alright," Jill said while crying and hugging me.

"Jill, thank you for trying to help me earlier. I'm glad I had a friend like you here."

"Your very welcome. I want you to come visit me sometimes."

"Of course," I told her with a smile.

That night me and Gray stayed at Jills. I slept on the lounge and Gray slept on the floor. When I woke up in the middle of the night, I got up to get a drink. After I went back, I watched Gray sleep for a while before I drifted back to sleep.

The next morning, we left to go back home.

When I entered my farm, I looked around, happy to be back. Gray came up behind me and put his arms around me.

"So, do you feel like going to the cooking festival?"

After everything had happened, the festival had actually slipped from my mind.

"No. I don't think I will. I just want to stay here and relax a bit. Will you stay with me?"

"Sure."

So we spent the rest of the day lazing around the farm.

* * *

Don't worry. This isn't the end. There is till plenty to go... i think XD. Anyway i hope you guys liked it. And it looks like Mark wins the poll so he will show up soon. Oh yeah and i changed chapter 5 from 2 weeks to 1 year.


	11. Chapter 11

Woo! another chapter. i would have had it up sooner but i got a cold then i was keeping a real close eye on victoria bushfires as my grandparents live near that area. luckily it didnt go near them (yay). then of course i was feeling really sad for all the people who lost someone. but now i finally wrote it. personaly, i didnt really like this chapter. but you guys might. Anyway review time  
_.xXRuthieCutieXx.- _Yay for Gray XD. and you will have to wait till next chapter for Mark. Still deciding on what kind of personality he will have ^^.

_The Pig And The Cherry Blossom- _lol i dont know if its that brilliant. the story just comes to mind as im writing it. like the way Claire tells Gray that she likes him is totally different to what i originally planned. so literally this story is writing itself. XD

_Random Jelly Beans- _lol it didnt sound too bad....ok it did a bit but we all know what your talking about XD And Claire was happy that she didn't bite so hard that his tongue bled

Claire- i sure am. ew that would have been even more disgusting.  
Me- yes it would have...  
Anyhoo on with the story. oh yeah, and lots of fluffiness at end.

Disclaimer- i do not own harvest moon, skip beat or crimson hero

* * *

Winter 5

When I finished milking my cows Shake, Porridge and Cream, I decided I would eat lunch at the inn.

When I walked in, Ann ran over to me.

"I need to talk to you," she told me pulling me into the back room of the inn. I sat at the table while she made us tea. When she was finished making them, she bought them over and sat across from me.

"Well as you know," she began. "Tomorrow is Gray's birthday. My dad and I decided we would have a party for him. Would you like to come?"

"Of course I would. I wouldn't miss it for the world."

"Great. I knew you would say yes. Anyway it starts at 6pm so please don't be late."

'Hmm I wonder…'

We finished the teas and went back out. I sat at one of the tables and ordered my lunch. As I ate it, I listened to the conversations other customers were having. Harris was telling Mayor Thomas that the town was, as usual, very peaceful. He wished there was more action as there hadn't been any since the Jack incident and that had actually got him excited. Basil was telling Duke about all kinds of plants that grow in Mineral Town. 'Hang on, shouldn't Duke be at work right now?' I thought to myself.

When I was finished, I went and picked up Stu and May and took them back to my farm. We spent a few hours building snowmen and had a snowball fight. After we finished the last fight, May being the winner, I took them back to their homes. It was late by the time I got back home, so I had a quick shower, dinner then went to bed.

The next morning, I decided to sleep in. I got up at around 9am and took care of all my animals. When I was finished, I went inside to make lunch. While it was cooking, I went to my room to decide on what I was wearing to the party. I decided on a light blue strapless dress that went down to my knees, a soft red jacket and black knee high boots. I laid it all on my bed.

I watched TV while I ate lunch. When I finished my lunch, I washed the dishes and thought I would read since nothing was on TV. I went over to my bookcase and had a tough time deciding between Skip Beat and Crimson Hero. In the end Skip Beat won. By the time 5pm came around, I had read two volumes of it. I took a shower. When I was finished I dried myself off, got dressed and styled my hair. I put on really light makeup as I didn't really like the stuff.

I got to the inn just before 6pm. As I opened the doors, I got showered in confetti.

"SURPRISE!" everyone in the room shouted.

"Wh..wha..whats going on?" I asked surprised.

When I looked around I saw the banner on the back wall saying 'Happy Birthday Gray and Claire'.

"This is a joint party for you and Gray. Obviously I couldn't tell you that it was for you too," Ann told me.

"You remembered my birthday?"

"Of course. You're my best friend. So it's a day early but its better than having two parties in two days. And who better to have a joint party than you and Gray?"

I started to get teary, so I hugged Ann laughing.

"Thank you so much."

I walked around the room getting Happy Birthdays from everyone. I found Gray sitting at a table with Cliff.

"Happy birthday, Gray," I said sitting down at the table.

"Happy Birthday, Claire," replied Gray, leaning over the table giving me a peck on my lips.

Ann came up to us and sat down. Lately, her and Cliff had been getting really close. She blushed when she looked at him. 'Aww how cute,' I thought. Then she turned to me.

"Do you want to open your presents at the same time as Gray or wait till after midnight so your opening them on your actual birthday?"

"Hmm.. I better open them at the same time as some people might not be here that late."

"Ok then. Well, lets go dance."

She pulled me up and onto the area they cleared for a dance floor. Gray and Cliff came over to join in. We were dancing around laughing for a while and then slow music started playing. Cliff asked Ann to dance with him and of course she said yes.

Gray held out his hand to me.

"May I have this dance, Miss Claire?" he asked me with a wide smile.

"You may, Mr Gray," I giggled.

I put my arms around his neck and he put his around my waist and pulled me in close. I rested my head on his chest.

"Are you enjoying the party?" he asked.

"Yes I am. Are you?"

"Yes, because you are here."

I blushed and looked up at him. He smiled and leaned down to kiss me.

"I love you," he whispered into my ear.

I shivered at the feeling of his lips brushing against my ear.

"I love you, too," I whispered back.

When we danced to a few more songs, it was decided we would open our presents.

I got a bottle of grape juice from Karen ("I was going to give you wine but I drank it so I got you this instead," she told me.), a pink turtle neck top from Popuri, a bottle of perfume from Elli and 10 free meal vouchers from Ann. When Mary came to give us her present, she said, "I'm taking you and Gray on a trip with me. As you guys are my greatest friends, there is someone I want to introduce to you. Will you come?"

"Of course we will," we both replied.

She smiled and went back to her parents so we could receive the rest of our presents.

When I decided that it was getting a bit late, I went around to everyone that was still there and said my thank you's and goodnight's. Gray said he would walk me home.

We walked quietly holding hands. It was a cloudless night so the stars were shining brightly.

"They're so beautiful," I said looking up at the stars.

Gray looked up and then back down at me.

"Not as beautiful as you," he said with a slight blush on his face.

My face was starting to feel really hot so I might have been bright red.

"Thank you," I whispered looking at the ground smiling.

Gray chuckled.

When we reached my house, I turned to him. He put his hand on my cheek and smiled softly at me. My heart was racing as it always did when he smiled at me like that. He just looked absolutely gorgeous when he did. He leaned down and kissed me softly and then it got more passionate. I opened my eyes in surprise. He had stuck his tongue in. I melted back into the kiss, enjoying it. When he pulled away, we were both panting.

"Wow," I gasped. "That was great."

"Yeah," Gray replied.

Then he gave me another small kiss.

"Goodnight, Claire. I'll see you tomorrow," he quietly said.

"Goodnight, Gray."

He turned to go back to the inn. I watched him leave. When he was off the property, I went inside. I got changed into my fluffy duck pj's and while yawning, got into bed. I fell asleep almost straight away.

* * *

Well. we should hopefully meet Mark in the next cahpter. And im not so good with good fluffiness but hope you guys still liked it.

Claire- mmmmmm that was good.  
Me- your back i see  
Claire- of course. i had to tell everyone out there how Gray is a great kisser *enters dream world*

Ok then. Oh yeah. I got a new puppy today. Guess what i named him? Gray! Ahahaha i know, its weird naming your dog after your fave vid game character but i dont care :P. I was also thinking of Vaughn but that would have been weirder XD.


	12. Chapter 12

Aww i got no reviews last chapter :(. Oh well here is the next one. hope you like it

* * *

A week later, Mary, Gray and I were aboard the ferry to some place called Sunny Island. I spent half the time at the edge of the ferry as I was sea sick. I was glad when we finally made it. When I got off, I laid down in the sand.

"Ahh finally. That took forever," I groaned.

"Sorry, Claire. I didn't know you would get sea sick."

"It's ok Mary. Neither did I. I was fine on the ferry to Mineral Town."

"Let's take our things to the hotel and then I'll show you around."

Mary took us to the hotel in East town. Mary and I shared a room while Gray got a room to himself. When we unpacked our bags, she took us around the island. The forest and jungle were so peaceful. In fact the whole island seemed peaceful. She introduced us to the people who lived on this island.

"This has been bugging me for while, Mary, but how do you know this place so well?" I asked as we walked around.

"You know how I went away for a season last year?"

"Yeah."

_Flashback_

One morning I was out watering my plants when I heard Mary call my name.

"Hey, Claire."

"Hey Mary. What's up? You don't come here very often."

"Ah yeah. I'm just here to say that I'm going away for a while."

"Really? Why? Where?" I asked.

"I just need a break. I don't know where I'll be going. I'll be gone for a season."

"Ok. I'll miss you while you're gone," i said giving her a hug.

"I'll miss you too. Well, I've got to go get ready. I'll see you when I get back."

"Alright. Bring me a present back."

"Haha I will. Bye, Claire."

"See ya, Mary."

Then she left.

_End flashback_

"Well, this is where I came for my holiday. I met and got on well with everyone. Now I'm taking you to see the person I hold dear in my heart."

She took us back to the hotel and to the room at the back of the front lobby. She knocked on the door and opened it.

"Mary!" I heard someone shout.

Then a guy with blond hair under a blue hat hugged Mary.

"I've missed you so much. What are you doing back here? And who are they?"

Wow, talk about peppy. He was talking so fast I barely understood what he said.

"I missed you too, Mark. I came to introduce you to my friends from Mineral Town. This is Claire and Gray," Mary replied. Turning to us, she said, "Guys this is Mark."

"Hi Mark," I said holding my hand out to shake it. But he just hugged me. I saw Gray scowl out of the corner of my eye. Aww, someone was jealous.

"Hi, Claire. Mary tells me your farmer? I want to be a farmer. I came here hoping to be a farmer but the ranch was already taken and there was no more land for another farm. So I'm doing odd jobs to save up to try another place."

Mark then turned and shook hands with Gray.

"Wow, you have really rough hands. What do you do for a living?" he asked Gray.

"I'm a blacksmith," Gray grunted.

"Awesome. That is a neat job. Are you really good?"

Gray blushed. "I'm ok. Not exactly a pro yet but I'm training really hard."

"Cool. Well anyway, how about we go get something for lunch? I'm starved."

We went to the diner and continued talking there. After that we went to explore different parts of the island. Mary went to chat with Sabrina who is the daughter of the president of a mining company, Gray went to talk to Gannon the carpenter, Mark went back to his room at the hotel, and I went to visit Chelsea at her ranch. She showed me her rice paddy. It was full of growing rice. Then she showed me her cows, sheep and chickens. All the animals were really happy and healthy.

"I guess having an animal trader for a husband does help keep them really healthy. Before we were married, my animals often got sick and I couldn't figure it out. Then Vaughn helped me by discovering that there was a gap in the roof which made the barn cold often. So I got Gannon to fix it and now they are always healthy."

"Wow, that is really cool."

"So, are you and Gray married."

I turned bright red.

"N..no we're not married. But we are together. I had some…problems not that long ago and he helped me through them. I wouldn't have been able to pull through it all as well as I have if it wasn't for him. He is my hero and I love him more than ever," I said with a smile.

"That is so sweet. You have a good man there."

"Yeah I do."

After a few hours, I headed back to the hotel. Gray was there waiting for me.

"Shall we go get dinner?"

"Sure."

When we got to the diner we saw Mark and Mary sitting at a table. They waved at us so we went and sat with them.

We stayed on the island for a week. I got to know everyone there and became close friends with Chelsea. Elliot and Julia reminded me of Rick and Karen (Except Julia was much nicer than Karen), Denny and Lanna of Kai and Popuri and Pierre and Natalie….well no one because there aren't any child like people in Mineral Town. Seriously, the guy looked like a little kid. Gray just laughed when I told him this.

I wasn't looking forward to the trip back home. As we were getting ready to board the ferry Mark was hugging Mary.

"I'll come see you soon, ok," he said to her.

"Ok."

"Goodbye Claire. You take it easy. Gray, take care of Claire. You have a special one there. Better hold on tight to her."

"I will." Gray mumbled back with a small blush.

The trip back was just as bad as the trip there.

"I am never going on another boat," I said as we stepped off the ferry.

Gray and Mary just laughed at me.

When I got back to my farm I saw that Ann and Cliff had taken good care of my farm while I was gone. Suddenly arms were wrapped around my waist and Gray gave me a hug.

"Claire. Can we talk for a bit."

I looked up at him and he looked really nervous.

"Sure."


	13. Chapter 13

Well this is the last chapter. I hope you guys liked the story. I'm starting on another story soon. I've sort of got the start of it thought out. There's lots of drama at the begining of this chapter. Anyway hope you enjoy it

Reviews  
_Saikono-san- thanks for the review. you could be right. it could be Gray proposing. But is it? You will find out XD_

_nmaj541- aww thank you. hope you like this chapter._

Disclaimer- do not own harvest moon

* * *

Gray POV

When we got back to Claire's farm, she looked around. I walked up to her and put my arms around her.

"Claire. Can we talk for a bit." I said to her feeling nervous

She looked up at me.

"Sure," she replied. "Meet me inside. I just want to go check on my animals."

"Ok."

I went inside her house and sat down at the table. I looked around at how big the house had gotten. 'She must have worked real hard,' i thought.

BANG. BANG.

"What the."

I walked outside and saw Claire laying in a pool of blood.

"CLAIRE!!" I yelled as I ran to her.

**Claire POV**

"Claire. Can we talk for a bit?" Gray asked me.

I looked up at him.

"Sure. Meet me inside. I just want to go check on my animals," I replied.

"Ok."

I watched Gray go inside, then turned to go to the barn.

When I opened the door, I looked around and saw all my animals on the far side of the barn. I rang the bell but they wouldn't move.

"What's wrong guys?" I called out to them.

All of a sudden Jack jumped out from behind a bale of hay.

"If I can't have you, no-one can."

He pulled a gun out.

BANG.

As I was fell on my knees holding my left shoulder where he shot me, I saw him point it at himself.

BANG.

He had shot himself.

I crawled to the door, then fell over. As the blackness was overtaking me, I saw Gray running over to me. I couldn't see his face. I wanted to look at his face one more time. Then everything went black.

Gray POV

When I reached Claire, I turned her over and saw that the blood was coming out of her left shoulder. She was barely breathing. As I picked her up, I looked in the barn and saw Jack laying on the ground. He had shot himself in the head. 'I'll tell Harris when I've taken Claire to the clinic.'

I walked as fast as I could without jolting Claire too much. As I walking past the blacksmith's, my grandpa came out.

"What happened Gray? I heard banging and.."

Then he saw Claire in my arms.

"I'll run ahead and alert the doctor."

He started running to the clinic. 'Wow, for an old man, he sure can run fast.'

It took me another 5 minutes to get there. Trent was waiting for us.

"Put her on the bed over here," he instructed me. "Then please wait in the waiting room."

While I waited, I went to Harris to tell him about Jack's body in the barn. Then I went back to the clinic. I paced and sat and paced some more for 2 hours waiting. Then Trent finally came out.

"How is she? Is she going to be ok?"

"She is currently in a stable but very critical condition at the moment. But, it's too early to tell if there will be any major damage. She will have to stay here for a while, even after she wakes up. That is, if she wakes up."

"She will wake up. She is a very strong person."

_5 days later_

**Claire POV**

"Nnn. Where am I?" I asked as I opened my eyes. I had to shut them again as the light was way too bright.

"Claire! Thank god your awake."

I felt someone pull me into a hug.

"Oooww," I cried out.

My shoulder hurt real bad.

"Oh, I'm so sorry."

"Gray? Is that you?"

"Yes it is. How are you feeling?

"Like someone ran me over with a truck. Where am I?"

"Your at the clinic. Do you remember what happened?

"Hmm..I went into my barn and saw Jack. Then he shot me. Then nothing. How long have I been here?" I was finally able to open my eyes. I was surprised when I saw Gray's face. It looked like he hasn't slept in days.

"You were asleep for 5 days. Your heart stopped twice but Trent got it started again."

"Twice?" I was shocked at hearing this.

"I was so scared I was going to lose you. I've stayed by your side the whole time."

"Have you had any sleep at all?"

"How could I? I was too worried about you that I couldn't fall asleep no matter how hard I tried."

"Well, I'm awake now. Go to the inn and get some sleep. I don't want to see you till you have, understood?"

"But,"

"No buts mister. Go. I'll be fine. Trent and Elli are here."

"Fine. I'll be back in a few hours."

He leaned down and gave me a soft kiss.

"I love you," he mumbled.

"I love you, too."

2 weeks after I woke up I was allowed to go home. When I got back I saw that someone took care of my farm again.

"Who took care of my farm?" I asked Gray.

"Me, Ann, Cliff, Rick and Popuri took turns doing it."

"Wow. Thank you."

We went inside. I put all my clothes away. Gray grabbed my hand pulled me over to the table and sat me down. He sat on the seat next to me and turned to face me.

"Claire, I want to ask you something," he said looking at his hands.

"Yes?"

Then he pulled a blue feather out of his pocket. My heart started racing. I heard about the local legend. You propose to the one you love with a blue feather. I looked at Gray and saw that he was really nervous.

"Claire, w-will you marry me?"

"Of course I will!" I shouted jumping into his arms.

He laughed while he put his arms around me.

_1 week later_

I was nervously standing in the change room that was set up near the front doors of the church. Elli, who was my brides maid, was helping me do my hair.

My dress was white with tiny flowers at the top and along the bottom of the dress.

Saibara walked in.

"You look very beautiful, dear."

"Thank you Saibara. And thank you for giving me away."

"Of course," he smiled at me.

Elli grabbed our bouquets, handing me mine, and headed to the door.

"You ready?" Saibara asked.

"Yes."

When we entered the church doors, the wedding song began. Everyone stood up. I looked around and saw that the whole town was there. I looked to the front and saw Cliff and Gray waiting. Gray had a really big smile on his face. When I got to the alter, Elli took my bouquet and Gray took my hands and smiled down at me.

"You look beautiful," he whispered.

"Thank you. You look handsome."

After the wedding, everyone headed to the inn for the reception. Gray and I went to his room to get changed before going back down. The reception went on into the early hours of the next morning.

When we got home, we got ready for bed and then did what most newly weds did on the night of their wedding *wink wink*.

A month later I was starting to feel sick and getting dizzy while working. Gray was getting worried so he took me to the doctors.

"There is nothing to worry about," Trent told us.

"Then what's wrong with her?" Gray asked him.

Trent just smiled and said, "Congratulations. You guys are have a baby."

Silence followed that statement. Gray and I looked at each other. Tears were starting to form in my eyes. And I could see them in Gray's eyes too.

"We're having a baby," I whispered.

"Yeah," Gray replied. Then he grabbed me spinning me around.

"I'm so happy. Now we will be a complete family."

I was getting dizzy so I told Gray to stop spinning me.

We went and saw Saibara to tell him the good news.

"That's great guys. Congratulations." he said hugging me and shaking Grays hand.

When I was getting close to the delivery date I decided to stop work. Well actually, Gray made me stop. He did all the work for me. It was funny watching Gray try and brush my horse when he kept running away from him.

A few days after I stopped working. I woke to really bad stomach pains. I woke Gray up and told him that the baby was coming. He ran to the clinic to get Trent and Elli. By the time they got back, my waters had already broken.

"Gray, we need you to wait over there so your not in the way." Elli told him.

Elli said that I was fully dilated so I needed to start pushing. I pushed and pushed. After what seemed like hours, she finally said she could see the head.

"Just one more push Claire."

So I pushed really hard.

"Waaahhhhh."

I started crying when I heard the baby cry.

"It's a boy," Trent said.

He was about to hand me him when I got more pains in my stomach and the urge to push again.

Elli gasped. "I think she has twins."

Not long after I heard another baby crying.

"This one is also a boy."

I was exhausted after all that. Trent went and got Gray.

He came in with a big smile on his face.

"You did a great job, Honey," he said kissing my forehead. "What should we name the boys?"

"How about Chase and Vaughn?"

"They are great names."

The boys grew up to be happy. Vaughn didn't show his emotions much but I knew he was happy. He decided to be an animal trader and Chase became a cook.

Gray and I lived together happily till our dying days.

The End.

* * *

ok just so you know, its been many many years since i went to a wedding so thats why i didnt put it in. and also i didnt have my son naturally so i dont know if i did the birthing scene right. but im happy with how it all turned out. and ive never played tot but i liked the name chase so i decided to make him and vaughn brothers XD.


End file.
